Debates of June 8th, 1999
House of Commons Hansard #240 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was marriage.
Topics
- Government Response To Petitions
- Committees Of The House
- Civil International Space Station Agreement Implementation Act
- Petitions
- Questions On The Order Paper
- Supply
- The Persechini Run
- Taxation
- The Environment
- Leukemia
- Relay For A Friend
- Agriculture
- Operation Blue Star
- Laval Hospital
- Oceans
- New Brunswick Election
- World Skills Competition
- Family Trusts
- Drummondville
- Quebec Premier
- New Brunswick Election
- Parkdale Community Cleanup Day
- Government Expenditures
- Sexual Exploitation Of Children
- Kosovo
- Prime Minister
- The Senate
- Kosovo
- Prime Minister
- Correctional Service Canada
- Prime Minister
- Correctional Service Canada
- Prime Minister
- Grain Transportation
- Prisons And Penitentiaries
- The Family
- National Defence
- Kyoto
- Toronto Port Authority
- Kosovo
- Reproductive Technologies
- Kosovo
- National Rural Health Strategy
- Canada Marine Act
- Quebec's Political Future
- National Defence
- Amherst
- Presence In Gallery
- Privilege
- Points Of Order
- The Late Hugh Hanrahan
- Petitions
- Supply
- Committees Of The House
- Supply
- Main Estimates, 1999-2000
- Points Of Order
- Main Estimates, 1999-2000
- Points Of Order
- Supply
- Division No. 546
- Division No. 547
- Division No. 548
- Main Estimates, 1999-2000
- Division No. 549
- Division No. 550
- Division No. 551
- Division No. 552
- Division No. 553
- Division No. 554
- Division No. 555
- Division No. 556
- Division No. 557
- Division No. 558
- Division No. 559
- Division No. 560
Prime Minister
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles Duceppe Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says he sold his shares in 1993. The Deputy Prime Minister told us yesterday that the alleged buyer returned the shares to the trustee.
This is saying that the trust has the shares belonging to the Prime Minister. He is not the one administering them, we agree, but they are in his trust.
The Prime Minister is therefore in the same situation as the Minister of Finance, who has shares in a trust, but who withdraws from Cabinet discussions on shipping, whereas the Prime Minister boasts of having participated in the awarding of funding in his region to business people.
Can he explain all these about-faces to us? Does he not think it would be clearer to table the bill of sale so we might have something specific rather than acts of faith?
Prime Minister
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Saint-Maurice
Québec
Liberal
Jean Chrétien Prime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the member has said exactly the opposite of what the Deputy Prime Minister said yesterday. He said clearly that the shares had never been returned.
I sold and I gave the debt to my trustee, and the shares are not being administered, as far as I know. This is exactly what the ethics counsellor said in his testimony before the committee on May 6.
Grain Transportation
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Liberal
John Harvard Charleswood—Assiniboine, MB
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport.
On May 12 the minister appointed Arthur Kroeger to work with industry stakeholders to implement a framework for grain handling and transportation reform. Farmers and industry have asked for a review of the costs of moving grain by rail as part of the Kroeger process.
Will the minister commit to the House that railway costs will be examined?
Grain Transportation
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Don Valley East
Ontario
Liberal
David Collenette Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, as I said when I announced Mr. Kroeger's appointment, a full costing review would delay the whole process by a year. There is no question that for Mr. Kroeger to do a thorough job, he has to get a real handle on the true costs of grain transportation by rail.
I am pleased to announce that Mr. Kroeger has requested the Canadian Transportation Agency to conduct an immediate analysis for him so that he can be assisted in his work and report to me by the end of September.
Prisons And Penitentiaries
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Reform
Chuck Cadman Surrey North, BC
Mr. Speaker, the solicitor general just said that we had a 300% decrease. A 300% decrease should mean that we have a zero problem, but we now have a massive problem.
In my riding, a convicted armed robber said that when he went into prison decades ago he had no drug problem. When he came out he was addicted to heroin. Nothing has changed.
Where is the solicitor general's plan? Who is doing it? When are we going to get some results?
Prisons And Penitentiaries
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Cardigan
P.E.I.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the opposition members realize there is a problem. Quite simply, no human could come up with a plan for alcoholism and drug abuse in a couple of months.
Prisons And Penitentiaries
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Reform
Chuck Cadman Surrey North, BC
Mr. Speaker, before I came here I was on an advisory committee to the deputy commissioner for the Pacific region years ago. We complained about bleach being in the prisons to sterilize needles. We complained about a convicted killer who actually murdered his wife in prison during a conjugal visit by overdosing her with heroin. The problem has been there for years.
I will again ask the solicitor general when we will get a solution to this?
Prisons And Penitentiaries
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
Cardigan
P.E.I.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated previously, yes, the problem has been there for years. Yes, we did do a survey in 1995 and we did a survey a year ago. There has been a 300% decrease in the use of drugs and alcohol in our penal institutions. It is not enough. We will do more.
The Family
Oral Question Period
2:40 p.m.
NDP
Michelle Dockrill Bras D'Or, NS
Mr. Speaker, during the hearings of the subcommittee on taxation and families, witnesses from across the political spectrum spoke of the need to extend and improve maternity and parental benefits.
In view of the widespread agreement that clearly exists in the country, will the Minister of Human Resources Development commit his government today to extending and improving maternity and parental benefits for Canadian families?
The Family
Oral Question Period
2:45 p.m.
Papineau—Saint-Denis
Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, I am looking forward to reading the report of the subcommittee. I always look forward to constructive ideas to improve the social security of our Canadian families and our Canadian workers. I will certainly look into any creative and imaginative solutions and ideas that the parliamentary committee might want to submit to the government.
The Family
Oral Question Period
2:45 p.m.
NDP
Michelle Dockrill Bras D'Or, NS
Mr. Speaker, three months ago the minister realized, several years after everyone else, that this government's 1996 Employment Insurance Act discriminated against women. As usual, he promised to study the problem. The 56% of women who are ineligible for maternity benefits do not need a study to tell them what is wrong.
How much longer must they wait before the minister stops studying and starts acting?
The Family
Oral Question Period
2:45 p.m.
Papineau—Saint-Denis
Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear on this topic that we are monitoring very closely the impact of our EI reform on families and on women in particular. Indeed, we have identified that the re-entrance requirements might be penalizing women in a particular way. I have been raising this issue with my officials and we are looking into solutions because we want to serve citizens as well as we can.
Indeed, it is important to bring in the right solutions to the right problems and not jump to hasty conclusions, as the member is doing right now.
National Defence
Oral Question Period
June 8th, 1999 / 2:45 p.m.
Progressive Conservative
Elsie Wayne Saint John, NB
Mr. Speaker, on April 8 the Minister of National Defence testified before the defence committee that the government was a matter of weeks away from initiating the maritime helicopter program to replace the Sea Kings. We have also been told that the statement of requirement has been done for months.
Where is the statement of requirement for the Sea King replacements? Is it at the chief of air staff level, the chief of defence staff level, the armed forces council or gathering dust on the minister's desk?
National Defence
Oral Question Period
2:45 p.m.
York Centre
Ontario
Liberal
Art Eggleton Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, it is not gathering dust anywhere. We are putting the final touches on it and hope to be able to bring it forward soon because we want to get on with the replacement of the Sea King helicopter. It has provided yeoman service for the Canadian forces and it continues to be well maintained, but eventually it has to be replaced and we need to get on with doing that and we intend to.
National Defence
Oral Question Period
2:45 p.m.
Progressive Conservative
Elsie Wayne Saint John, NB
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the province of New Brunswick the people wiped out the Liberals because they got answers like that. They never got a straight one. This Liberal government is going to go too if it does not give me some straight answers.
Where is the statement of requirement for the Sea King replacement? Is it at the chief of air staff level or is the minister waiting until parliament recesses for the summer so he can get out of the heat on this issue?